Cellphone thefts are on the rise. Police say they’ve seen a spike in the number of stolen cellphones ever since the beginning of the year. According to Gastonia Police, cell phone thefts are up 12 percent from last year. Gaston County Police have also seen similar rises. They’ve had a record 18 phones stolen since June 1.

There are two reasons that Gaston County Police have noticed for the thefts. One, phones are becoming more high-tech and expensive, said Gaston County Police Capt. Bill Melton. Two, thieves are looking to get any personal information off that phone. Verizon spokeswoman Karen Schulz said there’s an easy way to avoid the threat of identity theft.

“There’s definitely a lot more opportunity for foul play but there’s also a lot of ways to protect the device,” she said.

For one, certain free apps can be downloaded to smartphones that allow the user to lock up and wipe clean the phone if they think it has been stolen. “It basically then turns it into a brick and erases any personal information,” Schulz said. There are also some apps that can sound an alarm and track the phone to be recovered.

Gaston County Police have done just that recently. The stolen phone had the app downloaded and police located and recovered the phone. “If you have a phone that has the ability to do that, then I highly recommend it,” Melton said. He also urges simple common sense. “A lot of these crimes are just crimes of opportunity,” he said. So simply keep your phone secure, Melton said. Cellphone companies are also working to combat the problem.

CTIA – The Wireless Association, a nonprofit trade association has begun to create a worldwide database that would log all smartphones. The database will help prevent stolen phones from being used again by the thieves or whoever it has been sold to.

“As more countries and more carriers around the world participate in the database, criminals will have fewer outlets for their stolen devices,” Jamie Hastings, vice president, external and state affairs for CTIA said. “We’re pleased the carriers met all of the deadlines so far.” CTIA is on track to finalize the database by Nov. 30.

You can reach reporter Lauren Baheri at 704-869-1842 or Twitter.com/lbaheri.